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Amarone della Valpolicella
Selected grapes, a drying room and a dry finished wine: follow Amarone through appassimento, fermentation and maturation.
A little acquaintance, at a glance.
- Origin
- Valpolicella · Veneto
- Designation
- Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG
- Key step
- Appassimento before fermentation
- Finished route
- Dry red wine
Dry wine from dried grapes
Amarone della Valpolicella is a protected red wine from the Valpolicella area of Veneto. Its defining trail begins with selected grapes dried before fermentation. That process is called appassimento. It concentrates the fruit, but it does not by itself require a sweet finished wine. Amarone follows the dry-wine route.
The grape conversation
Start with Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella, then read the maker’s actual composition. Other authorised local grapes can appear. A famous wine name should not hide the blend, and the blend should not be assumed from an older vintage.
From harvest to bottle
Select and dry
Healthy selected bunches are placed in a suitable drying space. Airflow, conditions and the producer’s handling affect how the fruit loses water.
Ferment
After drying and pressing or crushing, fermentation converts grape sugar into alcohol. Dried grapes can therefore lead to a dry wine rather than leaving all their concentrated sugar behind.
Mature and assemble
Vessels, duration and the final assembly of lots shape the finished wine. Small new barrels, larger casks and other choices deserve separate questions.
A producer example: Allegrini
Allegrini’s Amarone Classico account names Corvina Veronese, Corvinone, Rondinella and Oseleta. It describes a period of drying followed by steel fermentation and maturation through smaller and larger wood vessels. Its 2021 analysis identifies a low residual sugar alongside substantial alcohol: a useful concrete distinction between dried fruit and a sweet finished wine.
The rack photograph above is from Tenuta Santa Maria di Gaetano Bertani. It illustrates appassimento at an actual winery; it is not a photograph of Allegrini’s drying facility.
Compare it with Recioto and Ripasso
Recioto della Valpolicella also begins with dried grapes but takes a sweet route. Ripasso involves a further stage using pomace from Amarone or Recioto production. The names explain different sequences, rather than a simple ladder of richer and better wines.
At the table
Try a small pour with braised mushrooms, a savoury bean dish or slow-cooked meat. The wine’s alcohol, freshness, tannin and age all matter. A concentrated wine need not be served in an oversized glass or matched only with a very heavy dish.
A small Cork Dork discovery
Give your curiosity a little room.
Compare an Amarone and a Recioto technical sheet. Find the grapes, drying account and residual sugar before comparing tasting notes. Keep the wine’s sweetness separate from a dried-fruit aroma.
Your observations, your words. Small pours welcome.
A few questions worth uncorking.
Does dried grape mean sweet wine?
No. Amarone demonstrates a dry-wine route from dried grapes.
Is Amarone fortified?
Its production route is based on fermentation of dried grapes; it is different from adding spirit to fortify a wine.
Is Ripasso simply another name for Amarone?
No. It describes a separate wine and production route.
Where shall we wander next?
Veneto →Corvina →Corvinone →Rondinella →Valpolicella →Recioto →Ripasso →Behind this introduction
Editorial sources checked 24 October 2026. Composition, production rules and cellar practices can vary by appellation, producer and vintage. The producer’s notes are the place to check a particular bottle.
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